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Showing posts with label mystery/suspense/thriller. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mystery/suspense/thriller. Show all posts

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Bargain Books for Dads (and those who know one!)

The Playbook for Dads: Parenting Your Kids In the Game of Life ($2.99 Kindle), by Jim Kelly, Ted Kluck and Dan Marino[Hachette]
Book Description
On the football field NFL great Jim Kelly was a strong-armed passer, leading his team to victory after victory. In THE PLAYBOOK FOR DADS he passes principles instead of footballs, still using his talent to lead men, but now he leads them to greatness as fathers, in his view the world's most important job.

With an emphasis on preparation, hard work and perseverance, Kelly tackles such essential issues as respect, character, accountability and spiritual discipline. From commitment and courage to honesty and humility, Kelly's lessons-learned on and off the field- guide men striving to be the fathers God designed them to be ­- so their children can grow to be everything they are meant to be. Conversational and refreshingly honest, Jim challenges fathers to work hard, pray for their children often, love their wives and implement these principles. Both practical and inspirational this is Jim Kelly coaching every dad how to be the star quarterback for the home team-his family.

Six Lessons for Six Sons: An Extraordinary Father, A Simple Formula for Success ($2.99 Kindle), by Joe Massengale and David Clow [Random House]
Book Description
Joe Massengale rose above his hardscrabble roots to become a successful Beverly Hills businessman, creating a tree service from scratch and building it into an enduring and profitable enterprise. Through years of hard work, Joe achieved the prosperous life he sought but never forgot the life lessons he learned along the way, especially those his father Hugh taught him. He made sure to impart those lessons to his six sons, each of whom became a success in his own right.

What his sons learned from Joe—what it means to be a man, a father, a son, a productive member of society, a person of integrity—is brought to life in Six Lessons for Six Sons. Joe tells his story in vignettes interwoven with observations from his sons, who talk about how they’ve put these simple yet resonant values into practice. Notable contributors—including Guy Bluford, the first African-American in space; Academy Award–winning actress Anjelica Huston; and Olympic Gold Medal–winning decathlete Rafer Johnson—offer perspectives on how the messages at the core of Joe’s story have enriched their own lives and, most important, how they can enrich yours.

Six Lessons for Six Sons is a proven blueprint for personal accomplishment and fulfillment, a stirring story of one family’s journey through a century of American change, and an inspiration for anyone who wants to become a positive role model for others.

Manifest Destiny ($0.99 Kindle), by Brian Garfield [Open Road] (this one is definitely going on the TBR list)
Book Description
A rollicking adventure starring a young Theodore Roosevelt

In 1884, Teddy Roosevelt’s political career is dead in the water. A New York state assemblyman with eyes on national office, he finds his ambitions thwarted just months after his wife and infant daughter pass away. Frustrated by politics, he retires to the American West to ride, ranch, and hunt buffalo in the Dakota Badlands. Nobody tells him that the buffalo are gone.

He arrives in Dakota a greenhorn, awkward in the saddle and unused to Western clothes. But his aristocratic charm, natural intelligence, and love of nature impress the hardened frontiersmen, forming a bond that lasts the rest of their lives. When a wealthy French marquis threatens the pristine country he has fallen in love with, Roosevelt joins with the Dakotans to defend it. Before the presidency, before San Juan Hill, it was in Dakota that Theodore Roosevelt became a man.

To Serve Them All My Days ($2.99 Kindle), by R. Delderfield [Sourcebooks Landmark]
Book Description
To Serve Them All My Days is the moving saga of David Powlett-Jones, who returns from World War I injured and shell-shocked. He is hired to teach history at Bamfylde School, where he rejects the formal curriculum and teaches the causes and consequences of the Great War.

Eventually David earns the respect of his students and many of his fellow teachers, against the backdrop of a country struggling to redefine itself. As David falls in love and finds himself on track to possibly take on the headmaster role, he must search to find the strength to hold true to his beliefs as the specter of another great war looms.

To Serve Them All My Days is a brilliant picture of England between the World Wars, as the country comes to terms with the horrors of the Great War and the new forces reshaping the British government and society.

Subject of a Landmark BBC Miniseries; Includes Bonus Reading Group Guide

Cut Short ($2.57 Kindle; $3.49 companion audiobook), the first Geraldine Steel thriller by Leigh Russell [Oldcastle Books]; with starred reviews, this one is going to the TBR list, as well.
Book Description
In the tradition of Ruth Rendell, Lynda La Plante, Frances Fyfield, and Barbara Vine, a gripping psychological thriller introduces Detective Inspector Geraldine Steel, a woman whose past is threatening to collide with her future

D.I. Geraldine Steel relocates to the quiet town of Woolsmarsh, expecting it to be a place where nothing much happens, and she can battle her demons privately—she quickly discovers she is wrong. By day, the park is a place where children play, friends sit and gossip, and people walk their dogs or take a short cut to avoid the streets. But in the shadows a predator prowls, hunting for victims. When a woman sees the killer and comes forward as a witness, she quickly becomes the object of his murderous obsession. D.I. Geraldine Steel is locked into a race against time, needing to find the killer before he strikes again, as public pressure mounts with the growing death toll.

That's My Girl: How a Father's Love Protects and Empowers His Daughter ($1.99 Kindle), by Rick Johnson [Revell]
Book Description
A father impacts every aspect of his daughter's life--for her entire life. Fathers model for their daughters how women should be treated, how men should act, and how a man shows healthy love and affection toward a woman. And, perhaps most importantly, he sets the standard for how his daughter feels she deserves to be treated by men. It's plain to see that this is a big responsibility and one that is not always easy to carry out.

In That's My Girl, parenting expert Rick Johnson shows men how to develop the close relationships with their daughters that they both crave. Rick's plainspoken common sense, wisdom, and humor meets dads right where they are with stories and advice that will change their relationships with their daughters for life.

Any man who wants to be the best dad possible to his daughter, as well as mothers and adult daughters seeking to understand the men in their lives, will love this hope-filled book.

Scorched ($3.79 Kindle), the sixth (and latest) in the Tracers suspense/thriller series by Laura Griffin [Pocket Books/Simon and Schuster]
Book Description
Kelsey Quinn set out to trace a murder victim. Now she may become one.

The dead don’t speak, but Kelsey knows their secrets. As a forensic anthropologist at the Delphi Center crime lab, Kelsey makes it her mission to identify bodies using no more than shards of bone, and her find at a remote Philippines dig hints at a sinister story. When Kelsey’s search for answers puts her at the scene of her ex-fiancĂ©’s murder, only one man can help her. The same man who broke her heart just months before, and who is also a prime suspect. Faced with an ultimatum— Kelsey or his job—Gage Brewer did the only thing a Navy SEAL could . . . but that doesn’t mean he stopped wanting Kelsey. Now Kelsey is running for her life and Gage is her last line of defense. As the threats escalate, Kelsey realizes this conspiracy goes deeper and higher than they could have guessed. With the clock ticking down on a madman’s plot, the slightest misstep will have unthinkable consequences. . . .

Evan Angler's Swipe series isn't so much for dad as it is for their tween and teen sons and daughters [Thomas Nelson]. Two of the three novels are on sale and all have bargain audiobooks.

Swipe ($7.69 Kindle; $3.49 companion audiobook)
Everyone gets the Mark. It gives all the benefits of citizenship. Yet if getting the Mark is such a good thing, then why does it feel so wrong?

Set in a future North America that is struggling to recover after famine and global war, Swipe follows the lives of three kids caught in the middle of a conflict they didn’t even know existed. United under a charismatic leader, every citizen of the American Union is required to get the Mark on their 13th birthday in order to gain the benefits of citizenship.

The Mark is a tattoo that must be swiped by special scanners for everything from employment to transportation to shopping. It’s almost Logan Langly’s 13th birthday and he knows he should be excited about getting the Mark, but he hasn’t been able to shake the feeling he’s being watched. Not since his sister went to get her Mark five years ago . . . and never came back.

When Logan and his friends discover the truth behind the Mark, will they ever be able to go back to being normal teenagers? Find out in the first book of this exciting series that is Left Behind meets Matched for middle-grade readers.
Sneak ($1.99 Kindle; $3.49 companion audiobook)
In a future United States under the power of a charismatic leader, everyone gets the Mark at age thirteen. The Mark lets citizen shop, go to school, and even get medical care—but without it, you are on your own. Few refuse to get the Mark. Those who do . . . disappear.

Logan Langly went in to get his Mark, but he backed out at the last minute. Now he’s on the run from government agents who will stop at nothing to capture him. But Logan is on a mission to find and save his sister, Lily, who disappeared five years ago on her thirteenth birthday, the day she was supposed to receive her Mark.

Logan and his friends, a group of dissenters called the Dust, discover a vast network of the Unmarked, who help them travel safely to the capital city where Lily is imprisoned. Along the way, the Dust receives some startling information from the Markless community, opening their eyes to the message of Christianity and warning that humanity is now entering the End of Days.

When the Dust finally arrives in the capital, it seems that all their careful planning is useless against a government that will do anything to bend its citizens to its will. Can the gentle words Logan has found in a tattered, banned Bible really stand against the most powerful military the world has ever known? Can Logan even sacrifice his own freedom, choosing to act through faith alone?
Storm ($1.99 Kindle; $3.49 companion audiobook)
In a future United States under the power of a charismatic leader, everyone gets the Mark at age thirteen. The Mark lets citizen shop, go to school, and even get medical care—without it, you are on your own. Few refuse to get the Mark. Those who do . . . disappear.

Logan Langly went in to get his Mark, but he backed out at the last minute. Ever since, he’s been on the run from government agents and on a quest to find his sister Lily, who disappeared when she went to get her Mark five years earlier. His journey leads him to befriend the Dust, a vast network of Markless individuals who dissent against the iron-grip rule of the government. Along the way to the capital to find Lily, the Dust receive some startling information from the Markless community, opening their eyes to the message of Christianity and warning that humanity is now entering the End of Days.

In Storm, Logan and his friends are the leaders of the Markless revolution. But while some Markless are fighting Chancellor Cylis’ army, the Dust is busy trying to find a cure for a horrible epidemic sweeping through the Marked. And it's difficult for them to know who to trust, especially when they aren't sure if Logan's sister Lily, one of the commanders in Cylis' army, is on their side or not. And all across the nation—and the world—the weather has become less stable and a storm is brewing that bigger than any of them could have ever imagined.

Home Game: An Accidental Guide to Fatherhood ($2.99 Kindle; $3.99 companion audiobook), by Michael Lewis [W. W. Norton & Company]
Book Description
The New York Times bestseller: “Hilarious. No mushy tribute to the joys of fatherhood, Lewis’ book addresses the good, the bad, and the merely baffling about having kids.”—Boston Globe

When Michael Lewis became a father, he decided to keep a written record of what actually happened immediately after the birth of each of his three children. This book is that record. But it is also something else: maybe the funniest, most unsparing account of ordinary daily household life ever recorded, from the point of view of the man inside. The remarkable thing about this story isn’t that Lewis is so unusual. It’s that he is so typical. The only wonder is that his wife has allowed him to publish it.

Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex ($2.99 Kindle; $3.99 companion audiobook), by Mary Roach [W. W. Norton & Company]
Book Description
The best-selling author of Stiff turns her outrageous curiosity and insight on the most alluring scientific subject of all: sex.

The study of sexual physiology—what happens, and why, and how to make it happen better—has been a paying career or a diverting sideline for scientists as far-ranging as Leonardo da Vinci and James Watson. The research has taken place behind the closed doors of laboratories, brothels, MRI centers, pig farms, sex-toy R&D labs, and Alfred Kinsey’s attic. Mary Roach, “the funniest science writer in the country” (Burkhard Bilger of The New Yorker), devoted the past two years to stepping behind those doors. Can a person think herself to orgasm? Can a dead man get an erection? Is vaginal orgasm a myth? Why doesn’t Viagra help women—or, for that matter, pandas? In Bonk, Roach shows us how and why sexual arousal and orgasm, two of the most complex, delightful, and amazing scientific phenomena on earth, can be so hard to achieve and what science is doing to slowly make the bedroom a more satisfying place.

I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell ($2.99 Kindle), by Tucker Max [Citadel]
Book Description
The Book That Inspired The Movie

Tucker Max drinks to excess at inappropriate times, disregards social norms, indulges every whim, takes no responsibility for his actions, rebels against any authority, mocks idiots and posers, sleeps with more women than is safe or reasonable and generally just acts like an asshole. "I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell" contains everything the modern-day bounder that is Tucker Max has written since he started sharing his depraved reality with an audience of millions.

A Confederacy of Dunces ($2.99 Kindle; $3.99 companion audiobook), the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by John Kennedy Toole [Grove Press]
Book Description
The ordinary folk of New Orleans seem to think he is unhinged as well. Ignatius ignores them as he heaves his vast bulk through the city's fleshpots in a noble crusade against vice, modernity and ignorance. But his momma has a nasty surprise in store for him. Ignatius must get a job. Undaunted, he uses his new-found employment to further his mission and now he has a pirate costume and a hot-dog cart to do it with.

I'll close out with one for Dads to read with their kids. Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore ($1.99 Kindle), by William Joyce (Author, Illustrator) and Joe Bluhm (Illustrator) [Atheneum Books for Young Readers]. This book features Kindle Text Pop-Up for reading text over vivid, full-color images when using Kindle Fire/HD or select Kindle Reading Apps (Kindle Cloud Reader, Kindle for iPad or Kindle for Android, Kindle for Windows 8); unlike some other Text Popup books, this one won't work on any of the eInk Kindles.
Book Description
The book that inspired the Academy Award–winning short film, from New York Times bestselling author and beloved visionary William Joyce. Includes audio!

Morris Lessmore loved words.

He loved stories.

He loved books.

But every story has its upsets.

Everything in Morris Lessmore’s life, including his own story, is scattered to the winds.

But the power of story will save the day.

Stunningly brought to life by William Joyce, one of the preeminent creators in children’s literature, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore is a modern masterpiece, showing that in today’s world of traditional books, eBooks, and apps, it’s story that we truly celebrate—and this story, no matter how you tell it, begs to be read—and listened to—again and again.

Age Level: 4 and up

Saturday, June 15, 2013

UK Kindle Daily Deal 6/15

Multiple Wounds (£0.99 UK), by Alan Russell [Thomas & Mercer], is the Kindle Deal of the Day for those in the UK (the US edition is $4.99).
Book Description
Holly Troy's mind is a complex maze of myth and reality, multiple personalities vying for time in the spotlight. As an artist, she is creative and compelling. As a witness, she is painfully unreliable, unsure of even which person she was the night of the murder. Even Holly can’t be sure of her own innocence. Homicide detective Orson Cheever never thought he would find himself playing psychologist to a Greek goddess in a modern-day murder investigation, but many of Holly's personalities come straight from classical mythology, from Cronos and Pandora to the Fates. As Cheever attempts to unravel truth from myth, he learns that there is even more to Holly than meets the eye. One personality in particular—that of a five-year-old girl—hits a little too close to home, and Cheever is forced to finally pull back the dark curtains of his own past in order to uncover the truth in this psychological thriller.

The Mammoth Book of SF Wars (£0.99 UK), edited by Ian Watson and Ian Whates [Robinson], is the Kindle Deal of the Day for for Science Fiction & Fantasy Fans in the UK (the US edition is $8.39).
Book Description
War is becoming increasingly 'SF-ized' with remotely controlled attack drones and robot warriors already in development and being tested. Over the past 100 years the technology of war has advanced enormously in destructive power, yet also in sophistication so that we no longer seem to live under the constant threat of all-out global thermonuclear cataclysm. So what will future wars be like? And what will start them: religion, politics, resources, refugees, or advanced weaponry itself? Watson and Whates present a gripping anthology of SF stories which explores the gamut of possible future conflicts, including such themes as nuclear war, psychological and cyberwars, enhanced soldiery, mercenaries, terrorism, intelligent robotic war machines, and war with aliens.All the stories in this collection of remarkable quality and diversity reveals humankind pressed to the limits in every conceivable way.It includes 24 stories with highlights such as:The Pyre of the New Day' - Catherine Asaro.The Rhine's World Incident' - Neal Asher. Caught in the Crossfire' - David Drake. Politics' - Elizabeth Moon.The Traitor' - David Weber.And others from:Dan Abnett, Tony Ballantyne, Fredric Brown, Algis Budrys, Simon R. Green, Joe Haldeman, John Kessel, John Lambshead, Paul McAuley, Andy Remic, Laura Resnick, Mike Resnick & Brad R. Torgersen, Fred Saberhagen, Cordwainer Smith, Allen Steele, William Tenn, Walter Jon Williams, Michael Z. Williamson, Gene Wolfe.

Friday, June 14, 2013

Daily Deal - Murder in Steeple Martin

Murder in Steeple Martin ($4.99 $2.99 Kindle), the first novel in the Libby Sarjeant murder mystery series by Lesley Cookman [Accent Press], is today's Deal of the Day at at Diesel E-Books, where it's discounted to $1.40 (8 copies left). At Amazon, the entire series is on sale for $2.99 per title, although long time readers may find they already have this one in their libraries, as it was free last August.
Book Description
Artist and ex-actress Libby Sarjeant is busy directing a play for the opening of a new theatre in her village when one of her cast is found murdered. The play, written by her friend Peter, is based on real events in his family, disturbing and mysterious, which took place in the village during the last war. As the investigation into the murder begins to uncover a tangled web of relationships in the village, it seems that the events dramatised in the play still cast a long shadow, dark enough to inspire murder.

Libby's natural nosiness soon leads her into the thick of the investigation, but is she too close to Peter's family, and in particular his cousin Ben, to be able to recognise the murderer?
Get the book from Diesel; be sure to check the sales price, as the Deal of the Day often sells out. Deals change at 11AM Eastern Time, USA.

UK Kindle Daily Deal 6/14

The Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK is six titles in the Agatha Raisin series by MC Beaton for £0.99 each (~80% off) [Robinson].

Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage (Main/UK; US edition $6.83) - Agatha Raisin #5
The morning of Agatha's marriage to James Lacey dawns bright and clear. But her luck runs out in the church when Jimmy, the husband she had believed long dead, turns up large as life and twice as ugly. Agatha has a go at strangling him. James breaks off the engagement. So when Jimmy is found murdered next day, Agatha and James are both the prime suspects. And they'll have to work together in order to clear their names . . .
Agatha Raisin and the Terrible Tourist (Main/UK; US edition $6.83) - Agatha Raisin #6
In this sixth entertaining outing Agatha leaves the sleepy Cotswold village of Carsely to pursue love - and finds a murderer. Spurned at the altar, she follows her fleeing fiancé James Lacey to north Cyprus, where, instead of enjoying the honeymoon they'd planned, they witness the killing of an obnoxious tourist in a disco. Intrigue and a string of murders surround the unlikely couple, in a plot as scorching as the Greek sun!
Agatha Raisin and the Wellspring of Death (Main/UK; US edition $6.83) - Agatha Raisin #7
Agatha Raisin's neighbouring village of Ancombe is usually the epitome of quiet rural charm, but the arrival of a new mineral-water company - which intends to tap into the village spring - sends tempers flaring and divides the parish council into two stubborn camps. When Agatha, who just happens to be handling the PR for the water company, finds the council chairman murdered at the basin of the spring, tongues start wagging. Could one of the council members have polished off the chairman before he could cast the deciding vote? Poor Agatha, still nursing a bruised heart from one of her unsuccessful romantic encounters, must get cracking, investigate the councillors and solve the crime.
Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham (Main/UK; US edition $8.89) - Agatha Raisin #8
The local ladies all deem Mr John a wizard, so when Agatha finds a few grey hairs on her head - and the rinse she tries at home turns her hair purple - she makes a beeline for the handsome Evesham hairdresser. And as well as sorting out her hair it soon becomes clear the charming man also has designs on her heart - but their future together is cut short when Mr John is fatally poisoned in his salon. Once again Agatha finds herself embroiled in a murder case. Was it one of Mr John's many customers, all of whom divulged to him their darkest secrets?
Agatha Raisin and the Fairies of Fryfam (Main/UK; US edition $7.59) - Agatha Raisin #10
Feeling jilted and cross, Agatha follows a fortune-teller's advice and rents a cottage in the pretty village of Fryfam, where she hopes good fortune and true love will come chasing after her for a change. Unfortunately, her romantic notions are soon dispelled by the strange goings-on in the village. What exactly are those strange lights in Agatha's back garden? Who is stealing paintings and pottery? Where are her beloved cats? And who murdered the local squire…Agatha's nose for trouble leads her into a maelstrom of jealousy, blackmail and dangerous liaisons - and a murderer who plans to keep irrepressible Agatha permanently in Fryfam - as a resident corpse.
Agatha Raisin and the Love from Hell (Main/UK; US edition $8.89) - Agatha Raisin #11
Recently married to James Lacey, Agatha quickly finds out that love is not all its cracked up to be - the newly weds are living in separate cottages and accusing each other of infidelity. After a fight down the local pub James vanishes - a bloodstain the only clue to his fate - and Agatha is the prime suspect. Determined to clear her name and find her husband, Agatha begins her investigation - and promptly finds a murdered mistress...

Fireblood (£0.99 UK), by Jeff Wheeler [47North], is the Kindle Deal of the Day for for Science Fiction & Fantasy Fans in the UK (the US edition is $4.99; companion audiobook $1.99).
Book Description
Tyrus of Kenatos has made it his life’s work to banish the plagues that ravage the kingdoms. He believes the answer to ending the devastation lies in the Scourgelands. Yet, Tyrus’s first expedition into the cursed woods failed after being defeated by mysterious minions who stalked and killed most of his band.

Now a prisoner in his own tower, Tyrus has summoned his nephew Annon—a Druidecht possessing innate magic called the fireblood—on the guise of finding a hidden treasure with which to purchase his twin sister Hettie’s freedom. But in reality, Tyrus is using his niece and nephew, and their magic, as an opportunity to escape and resume his desperate mission. And to aid them, he has enlisted the warrior-monk Paedrin—who is almost as green as the siblings when it comes to traveling these troubled lands. The trio is determined, and along the way they grow to trust each other—and new additions to the group—in order to accomplish their missions…whether or not those missions are one and the same.

But the Arch-Rike—ruthless ruler of Kenatos—has learned of these plans, and has sent the fearsome Kishion to destroy all those that oppose him. Now Tyrus and his unwitting allies must face down not only the plague, but this new enemy—and fulfill their quest before a fresh horror is unleashed on the world…

Nook Daily Find 6/14

Confessions of a Murder Suspect ($8.89 Kindle, $2.99 B&N), by James Patterson [Little, Brown and Company/Hachette], is the Nook Daily Find. It should drop in price by late morning on Kindle.
Book Description
James Patterson returns to the genre that made him famous with a thrilling teen detective series about the mysterious and magnificently wealthy Angel family . . . and the dark secrets they're keeping from one another.

On the night Malcolm and Maud Angel are murdered, Tandy Angel knows just three things: 1) She was the last person to see her parents alive. 2) The police have no suspects besides Tandy and her three siblings. 3) She can't trust anyone--maybe not even herself. Having grown up under Malcolm and Maud's intense perfectionist demands, no child comes away undamaged. Tandy decides that she will have to clear the family name, but digging deeper into her powerful parents' affairs is a dangerous-and revealing-game. Who knows what the Angels are truly capable of?

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Bargain Book Trio

Just a quick list today, guys.

Obsession ($0.99 Kindle; $2.99 Kobo), by Jennifer Armentrout [Entangled / Covet / Macmillan], is on sale TODAY ONLY!. Unlike many of her bestselling novels, this one is definitely not aimed at teens/young adults.
Book Description
He's arrogant, domineering, and... To. Die. For.

Hunter is a ruthless killer. And the Department of Defense has him firmly in their grasp, which usually doesn’t chafe too badly because he gets to kill bad guys. Most of the time he enjoys his job. That is, until he’s saddled with something he’s never had to do before: protect a human from his mortal enemy.

Serena Cross didn’t believe her best friend when she claimed to have seen the son of a powerful senator turn into something...unnatural. Who would? But then she witnesses her friend’s murder at the hands of what can only be an alien, thrusting her into a world that will kill to protect their secret.

Hunter stirs Serena’s temper and her lust despite their differences. Soon he’s doing the unthinkable breaking the rules he’s lived by, going against the government to keep Serena safe. But are the aliens and the government the biggest threats to Serena’s life...or is it Hunter?

Independence ($3.03 Kindle), by John Ferling [Bloomsbury Press]; this is a good price on a good book (perhaps a good Father's Day gift?) for those that missed it on sale last year. Grab it while you can - it's over $20 in other stores.
Book Description
No event in American history was more pivotal-or more furiously contested-than Congress's decision to declare independence in July 1776. Even months after American blood had been shed at Lexington and Concord, many colonists remained loyal to Britain. John Adams, a leader of the revolutionary effort, said bringing the fractious colonies together was like getting "thirteen clocks to strike at once."

Other books have been written about the Declaration, but no author has traced the political journey from protest to Revolution with the narrative scope and flair of John Ferling. Independence takes readers from the cobblestones of Philadelphia into the halls of Parliament, where many sympathized with the Americans and furious debate erupted over how to deal with the rebellion. Independence is not only the story of how freedom was won, but how an empire was lost.

At this remarkable moment in history, high-stakes politics was intertwined with a profound debate about democracy, governance, and justice. John Ferling, drawing on a lifetime of scholarship, brings this passionate struggle to life as no other historian could. Independence will be hailed as the finest work yet from the author Michael Beschloss calls "a national resource.

Just Desserts ($0.99 Kindle, Kobo), the first novel in the Bed-And-Breakfast series by Mary Daheim [HarperCollins]
Book Description
When the garishly grotesque clan of wealthy carpet-sweeper magnate Otto Broadie sweeps down upon Judith McMonigle's Hillside Manor Inn, it looks like there'll be a wild night of drinking, dining, and fortune-telling in the offing. But when their soothsayer-for-hire Madame Gushenka drops dead after someone douses her tea leaves with bug killer, harried hostess Judith and her irrepressible cousin Renie are left to clean up the mess. One of the Brodie bunch would dearly love to sweep the Madame's murder under the rug, however, and that might mean eliminating the nosy Ms. McMonigle as well. But with the help of her one-time beau, policeman Joe Flynn, Judith is determined to rattle the dust off some closeted family skeletons, in order to coax a killer out of hiding before coffee is served.

Daily Deal - Murder at the Manor

Murder at the Manor ($4.99 $2.99 Kindle), the ninth novel in the Libby Sarjeant murder mystery series by Lesley Cookman [Accent Press], is today's Deal of the Day at at Diesel E-Books, where it's discounted to $2.00 (9 copies left). The deal on this one isn't quite as good at Amazon, but they make up for it by having the entire series on sale for $2.99 per title.
Book Description
New edition; includes a map, cast of characters and a bonus chapter of the next title in the series.

Steeple Martin sleuth Libby Sarjeant and her partner Ben are hosting a writers’ weekend reunion at Ben’s family home, The Manor, when a body is discovered in the grounds.

Even though Scotland Yard are on the case, Libby feels impelled to investigate a murder on her home patch. Their enquiries take Libby and her psychic investigator friend Fran Castle to historic Dorset, where they uncover a complex web of writers’ jealousies that has further tragic consequences before Libby uses all her wiles to get at the truth.
Get the book from Diesel; be sure to check the sales price, as the Deal of the Day often sells out. Deals change at 11AM Eastern Time, USA.

UK Kindle Daily Deal 6/12

The Dog Stars (£0.99 UK), by Peter Heller [Review], an Amazon Best Books of the Month, August 2012, is the Kindle Deal of the Day for for Science Fiction & Fantasy Fans in the UK (the US edition is $11.99). Shorlisted for the Arthur C. Clarke Award 2013.
Book Description
THE ROAD - but with hope.

Hig, bereaved and traumatised after global disaster, has three things to live for - his dog Jasper, his aggressive but helpful neighbour, and his Cessna aeroplane. He's just about surviving, so long as he only takes his beloved plane for short journeys, and saves his remaining fuel.

But, just once, he picks up a message from another pilot, and eventually the temptation to find out who else is still alive becomes irresistible. So he takes his plane over the horizon, knowing that he won't have enough fuel to get back. What follows is scarier and more life-affirming than he could have imagined. And his story, THE DOG STARS, is a book unlike any you have ever read.

A Spy by Nature (£0.99 UK), by Charles Cumming [Harper], is the Kindle Deal of the Day for those in the UK (the US edition is $8.89).
Book Description
For all fans of TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY comes this masterclass in suspense about a spy caught up in his own web of deception…

Alec Milius is young, smart and ambitious – with a talent for deception. When a chance encounter opens the door to a career with MI6, he is desperate to make his mark.

But life as a spy begins to take a terrible toll on himself and those around him, and soon Alec is chasing not just success but survival. Forced to work alone, he spins a web of deceit that traps him centre stage in a game of global espionage.

In this new job, the difference between truth and a lie can be a matter of life and death. And for Alec, it’s getting harder to tell them apart…

A Spy By Nature is the bestselling novel with which Charles Cumming announced his arrival as heir apparent to masters like John le Carré and Len Deighton; compellingly told, utterly authentic and heart-racingly intense, it will grip you till the very last page.

Monday, June 10, 2013

Bargain Book Roundup

Sweet Everlasting ($1.99 Kindle), by Patricia Gaffney [Open Road], is just one of her novels that are currently on sale under $5.
Book Description
A young city doctor moves to the country, where a mute and beautiful local woman will change his life forever

Newly installed at his modest post in Wayne’s Crossing, Pennsylvania, Tyler Wilkes is a doctor, a hero of the Spanish-American War, and the heir to a great fortune. His wealthy family in Philadelphia doesn’t approve of his new station, but Tyler is sure of his calling. And the young ladies of Wayne’s Crossing can’t seem to get enough of their handsome young physician, exploiting every excuse to visit his offices with imagined maladies.

Tyler is most intrigued by Carrie Wiggins. Mute, sensitive, lovely, and troubled, Carrie lives with her abusive alcoholic stepfather, Artemis, in the mountains just outside of town. Her gentle nature and the loving care she bestows on injured animals in the woods quickly endear her to Tyler, though they belie the darkness in her life. Can she overcome her tortured past to give voice to her heart?

Deep Autumn Heat ($0.99 Kindle), a Contemporary Romance by Elisabeth Barrett [Loveswept/Random House], is one of four of her novels on sale under $3.
Book Description
In this sexy new Star Harbor romance series, featuring the too-tempting Grayson brothers, a celebrity chef turns up the heat for a local cafĂ© owner—and things start to sizzle.

Lexie Meyers decides there’s nothing sweeter than watching Sebastian Grayson’s perfect, wicked mouth devour her coconut cake. He’s hot, he’s hungry, and he’s sizing her up like she’s the best thing on the menu. But she’s been burned in the past and flings just aren’t her thing. Too bad Sebastian can’t resist a challenge.

Worldly, famous, and notorious with the ladies, Seb had planned a weekend of fishing and relaxation with his brothers. Until Lexie, with her kissable lips and frosty “get lost” attitude, makes him want to forget his culinary empire and create some magic with her. After he fires up his charm—including challenging her to a televised cook-off to break through her resistance—it’s now hotter in the bedroom than it is in the kitchen and Lexie isn’t sure whether she’s lost her mind . . . or just her heart.

Includes a special message from the editor, as well as excerpts from these Loveswept titles: Here Comes the Bride, The Wedding Chase, and About Last Night.

The Cowboy and the Princess ($1.99 Kindle), by Lori Wilde [Avon/HarperCollins]
Book Description
Welcome back to Jubilee, Texas, where New York Times bestselling author Lori Wilde romantically pairs a beautifully princess with Texas royalty: a rugged, totally hot, real-live cowboy! Wilde’s Jubilee novels celebrate homespun, small-town love—a treat for readers of the contemporary romance fiction of Sherryl Woods, Susan Wiggs and Susan Mallery—and her sexy cowboy heroes are sure to make Linda Lael Miller fans swoon. Nobody can resist these handsome, muscular, outdoorsy American icons, especially not the royal runaway bride in The Cowboy and the Princess, who unexpectedly finds her heart’s true desire in blue jeans smack-dab in the middle of America’s Southwest. You won’t want to miss the fireworks when these two worlds romantically collide!

Because of You and Until There Was You ($2.99 Kindle), two Contemporary Military Romances by Jessica Scott [Loveswept/Random House]

Because of You
From the war-torn streets of Baghdad to the bittersweet comforts of the home front, two wounded hearts navigate the battlefield of coming home from war in this explosive eBook original from newcomer Jessica Scott.

Keeping his men alive is all that matters to Sergeant First Class Shane Garrison. But meeting Jen St. James the night before his latest deployment makes Shane wonder if there's more to life than war. He leaves for Iraq remembering a single kiss with a woman he'll never see again- until a near fatal attack lands him back at home and in her care. Jen has survived her own brush with death and endured its scars. And yet there's a fire in Shane that makes Jen forget all about her past. He may be her patient, but when this warrior looks her in the eyes, she feels - for the first time in a long time - like a woman. Shane is too proud to ask for help, but for Jen, caring for him is more than a duty -it's a need. And as Jen guides Shane through the fires of healing, she finds something she never expected - her deepest desire.
Until There Was You
From the author of Because of You comes an all-new contemporary eBook romance. He plays by the rules, she's not afraid to break them. Now these two strong-willed Army captains will prove that opposites attract . . .

A by-the-book captain with a West Point background, Captain Evan Loehr refuses to mix business with pleasure--except for an unguarded instance years ago when he succumbed to the deep sensuality of redheaded beauty Claire Montoya. From that moment on, though, Evan has been at odds with her, through two deployments to Iraq and back again. But when he is asked to train a team prepping for combat alongside Claire, battle-worn Evan is in for the fight of his life.

Strong, gutsy, and loyal, Captain Claire Montoya has worked hard to earn the rank on her chest. In Evan, Claire sees a rigid officer who puts the rules before everything else--including his people. When the mission forces them together, Claire soon discovers that there is more to Evan than meets the eye. He's more than the rank on his chest; he's a man with dark secrets and deep longings. For all their differences, Evan and Claire share two crucial passions: their country and each other.

Includes a special message from the editor, as well as excerpts from these Loveswept titles: Blaze of Winter, The Devil's Thief, and Santerra's Sin.

Ride with Me ($2.99 Kindle), by Ruthie Knox [Loveswept/Random House], is one of six of her novels on sale under $4.
Book Description
In this fun, scorching-hot eBook original romance by RITA finalist Ruthie Knox, a cross-country bike adventure takes a detour into unexplored passion. As readers will discover, Ride with Me is not about the bike!

When Lexie Marshall places an ad for a cycling companion, she hopes to find someone friendly and fun to cross the TransAmerica Trail with. Instead, she gets Tom Geiger—a lean, sexy loner whose bad attitude threatens to spoil the adventure she’s spent years planning.

Roped into the cycling equivalent of a blind date by his sister, Tom doesn’t want to ride with a chatty, go-by-the-map kind of woman, and he certainly doesn’t want to want her. Too bad the sight of Lexie with a bike between her thighs really turns his crank.

Even Tom’s stubborn determination to keep Lexie at a distance can’t stop a kiss from leading to endless nights of hotter-than-hot sex. But when the wild ride ends, where will they go next?

Includes a special message from the editor, as well as excerpts from these Loveswept titles: In the Arms of the Law, Ivy Secrets, and Because of You.

If I Were You ($3.79 Kindle), the first novel in the Inside Out series by Lisa Renee Jones [Gallery Books/Simon and Schuster], has been optioned by Starz!
Book Description
The steamy first installment in the Inside Out erotic romance trilogy by Lisa Renee Jones, in the bestselling tradition of Fifty Shades of Grey.

When Sara McMillan finds a stack of journals in a storage unit, she’s shocked and enthralled by the erotic life the writer led. Unable to stop reading, she vicariously lives out dark fantasies through Rebecca, the writer—until the terrifying final entry.

Certain something sinister has happened, Sara sets out to discover the facts, immersing herself in Rebecca’s life. Soon she’s working at the art gallery Rebecca worked at and meeting Rebecca’s friends. Finding herself drawn to two dangerously sexy men, the manager of the gallery and a famed artist, Sara realizes she’s going down the same path Rebecca took. But with the promise of her dark needs being met by a man with confident good looks and a desire for control, she’s not sure anything else matters. Just the burn for more.

Heroes Proved ($2.99 Kindle), is the fifth (and latest) novel in the Peter Newman series by Oliver North [Threshold Editions/Simon and Schuster]; two of his non-fiction American Heroes volumes are also on sale under $4.
Book Description
A gripping, tightly crafted, action-packed thriller from the man President Ronald Reagan called “an American hero.”

#1 bestselling author Oliver North applies his extensive experience as a combat-decorated U.S. Marine and counterterrorism expert in this explosive novel of global intrigue, military action, and cutting-edge suspense.

It’s the year 2032, and the president claims America is now safe from terror. We’re told Iranian nuclear weapons no longer menace our citizens. Leaders in Washington insist that United Nations treaties and innovative technologies can protect us and assure peace in our time. To save money, “Progressives,” holding power in our capital, have cut the U.S. Armed Forces to the bone.

But when the city of Houston is targeted by suicide bombers—and Dr. Martin Cohen, America’s foremost physicist, is kidnapped—the brilliantly executed attack sends shock waves around the globe. The price of fuel skyrockets. With the U.S. economy on the brink of catastrophe, leaders in Washington look for a scapegoat—instead of our missing scientist. Enter Peter Newman, a highly decorated U.S. Marine war hero, veteran of multiple high-risk covert operations—and Naval Academy roommate of Dr. Marty Cohen. The precarious quest to find and rescue his friend puts the entire Newman family in lethal peril—and exposes the most ominous threat to the United States in our nation’s history.

Only someone who has actually “been there, done that” could write this book. Filled with heart-stopping action, authentic detail, and blistering tension, Heroes Proved is the most riveting work yet from national security expert, master novelist, and real-life war hero Oliver North.

Cop to Corpse ($2.09 Kindle), the twelfth novel in the Peter Diamond mystery series by Peter Lovesey [Soho Crime], with the companion audiobook for $2.99.
Book Description
PC Harry Trasker is the third policeman in the Bath area to be shot dead in less than twelve weeks. The assassinations are the work of a sniper no one has been able to pin down. The younger detectives are no match for this murderer and his merciless agenda. This is a job for Inspector Peter Diamond, and it might be the most dangerous investigation of his life.

The Chameleon Conspiracy ($1.99 Kindle), the third Dan Gordon Intelligence Thriller by former US covert intelligence agent Haggai Carmon [Thomas & Mercer].
Book Description
The master criminal and con man known as the Chameleon has eluded international law enforcement for twenty years. Dan Gordon was sure he finally had him, but he was left empty-handed. Now he won’t rest until the Chameleon is stopped. The Chameleon is actually more than a mere criminal—he’s an undercover sleeper agent. But Gordon is more than he seems, too. He’s an experienced hunter, trained by the Mossad, working now for the CIA.

Sunday, June 9, 2013

UK Kindle Daily Deal 6/9

The Midnight Swimmer (£0.99 UK), by Edward Wilson [Arcadia Books], is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (no US edition).
Book Description
Spawned in the bleak poverty of an East Anglian fishing port, Catesby is a spy with a big anti-establishment chip on his shoulder. He loves his country, but despises the class who run it. Loathed by the Americans and trusted by the Russians, Catesby is sent to Havana and Washington to make clandestine contacts. London has authorised Catesby to offer Moscow a secret deal to break the Cuban Missile Crisis deadlock. But before that can happen, Catesby meets the Midnight Swimmer who has a chilling message for Washington.

Once again, the author poses the fundamental question that few spy novelists answer: What is the greater crime? Betraying your country or betraying the person you love? A triangle of love and death that began in Berlin ends in Cuba. On one corner is a war disabled KGB general, on another corner is his unfulfilled wife …

This sophisticated novel is full of twists and turns that merge historical fact with fiction. Sleaze and high politics literally share the same beds. A white-knuckle superpower standoff is played out against a backdrop of honey trap blackmail, Mafia contracts, assassination and Vatican scandal. The real blurs into the surreal as Che’s car surfs on the Havana seafront and Fidel takes the pitcher’s mound against a professional baseball team.

Saturday, June 8, 2013

Nook Daily Find 6/8

Strawberry Yellow ($6.39 Kindle, $1.99 B&N), the fifth title in the Mas Arai series by Edgar-winner Naomi Hirahara [Prospect Park Books], is the Nook Daily Find.
Book Description
Curmudgeonly Japanese American gardener and unwitting detective Mas Arai is back in this fifth in the Edgar Award–winning series. Naomi Hirahara has created a memorable protagonist unlike any other: a Hiroshima survivor, Los Angeles gardener, widower, gambler, grandfather, and solver of crimes. In Strawberry Yellow, he returns to the strawberry farms of his youth and encounters family intrigue, danger, and murder.

The series' most compelling and evocative mystery yet is set in the strawberry fields of Watsonville, California, where young Mas first arrived as a Hiroshima survivor in the 1940s. He returns for the funeral of a cousin and quickly gets entangled in the murder of a young woman. Was his cousin murdered, too? Mas has to figure out what happened, keep himself safe, and uncover the mystery of the Strawberry Yellow blight and a new strawberry varietal so important that it could be inspiring a murderer.

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Bargain Book Roundup

Get any audiobook from Downpour for $6.95, using coupon code ANY695.

The Demon ($1.99 Kindle, B&N), by Hubert Selby, Jr. [Open Road]
Book Description
A womanizer’s struggle for self-control spirals into crime, madness, and murder

Harry White grew up in blue-collar Brooklyn, but the young man’s charm, smarts, and good looks have helped him earn a place as an uptown junior executive. White’s gifts have also made his love life easy, and he takes special pleasure in seducing married women. But when “Harry the Lover” is ready to grow up and leave his womanizing behind, White finds that suppressing his libido has dangerous consequences. His attempts at restraint awaken something sinister, causing White to seek excitement in a new form of violence and depravity.

Shocking and enthralling, The Demon is an unflinching meditation on male vanity by one of the most acclaimed and original writers of the twentieth century.

This ebook features an illustrated biography of Hubert Selby, Jr., including rare photos from the author’s estate.

Bachelor Unclaimed ($1.99 Kindle), by Brenda Jackson [Harlequin Kimani Romance], is the fourth novel in the Bachelors in Demand series; it was only released a couple of months ago, so it's unexpected to see at this price.
Book Description
Are his playboy days over for good?

In the wake of political defeat, former mayoral candidate Ainsley St. James does something totally out of character—she has a one-night stand with a seductive stranger. Never expecting to see him again, she accepts a job covering a breaking story in Hilton Head, South Carolina…only to discover that the island's most desirable recluse is the lover she has yet to forget.

Winston Coltrane can't get that incredible night—or the sexy, sophisticated beauty—out of his mind. The marine biologist is developing a secret formula that could be a major medical breakthrough. But there's something Winston is keeping from Ainsley: his feelings for her have grown beyond the bedroom. Kiss by breathtaking kiss, Ainsley is transforming his oceanside sanctuary into a sensual retreat. Will they be able to turn a passionate fling into forever in each other's arms?

The Last Kind Words ($0.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo), by four-time Bram Stoker Award winning author Tom Piccirilli [Bantam /Random House]
Book Description
From International Thriller Writers Award winner and Edgar Award nominee Tom Piccirilli, this mesmerizing suspense novel explores the bonds of family and the ways they’re stretched by guilt, justice, and the chance for redemption.

Raised in a clan of small-time thieves and grifters, Terrier Rand decided to cut free from them and go straight after his older brother, Collie, went on a killing spree that left an entire family and several others dead. Five years later, only days before his scheduled execution, Collie contacts Terry and asks him to return home. He claims he wasn’t responsible for one of the murders—and insists that the real killer is still on the loose.

Uncertain whether his brother is telling the truth, and dogged by his own regrets, Terry is drawn back into the activities of his family: His father, Pinsch, who once made a living as a cat burglar but retired after the heartbreak caused by his two sons. His cardsharp uncles, Mal and Grey, who’ve recently incurred the anger of the local mob. His grandfather, Old Shep, who has Alzheimer’s but is still a first-rate pickpocket. His teenage sister, Dale, who’s flirting with the lure of the criminal world. And Kimmy, the fiancĂ©e he abandoned, who’s now raising a child with his former best friend.

As Terry starts to investigate what really happened on the day of Collie’s crime spree, will the truth he uncovers about their secrets tear the Rands apart?

Walking the razor-sharp edge between love and violence, with the atmospheric noir voice that is his trademark, The Last Kind Words demonstrates why Tom Piccirilli has become a must-read author.

The Master Quilter ($2.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo, companion audiobook), by Jennifer Chiaverini [Simon and Schuster], is the sixth novel in her Elm Creek Quilts series.
Book Description
The Master Quilter opens with the sound of wedding bells ringing in the ears of the Elm Creek Quilters. The close-knit group can hardly believe that their own Sylvia Compson planned her holiday wedding to sweetheart Andrew in complete secrecy, without the help of even one of her friends. Eager to honor the newlyweds, the Elm Creek Quilters hasten to stitch a bridal quilt for their favorite Master Quilter. Until the time comes to unveil the surprise gift, they reason, Sylvia will be the one in the dark.

Such little white lies seem harmless enough, especially in the service of future happiness. Yet Elm Creek Manor, and the quilting retreat established there by the Elm Creek Quilters, thrives on the strength of women sharing their creativity, their challenges, and their dreams. Somehow, in the race to commemorate in Sylvia's bridal quilt all that they hold dear about her wisdom, skill, and devotion, they forget to give honesty its pride of place.

As the quilt blocks accumulate, the Elm Creek Quilters celebrate the joy of new beginnings and the ongoing success of their business -- until forces conspire to threaten their happiness and prosperity. Two among them falter in their personal relationships, yet they are too proud to share their pain. The financial problems of another leave the quilt project vulnerable to a malicious act that may prevent its completion. And as two others weigh the comfort of the present against dreams of a future far from Elm Creek Manor, closely guarded secrets strain the bonds of friendship with those who may be left behind.

The Crimes of Jordan Wise ($1.99 Kindle, Kobo; $2.99 companion audiobook), by Bill Pronzini [Walker/Bloomsbury Publishing]
Book Description
Jordan Wise is a mild-mannered accountant with a large San Francisco engineering firm in the late 1970s. By his own admission, the first thirty-four years of his life were dull, empty. But that all changes when he meets and falls in love with Annalise Bonner, an ambitious young woman who craves excitement, a life on the edge. With her as the catalyst, Wise concocts and executes a meticulous plan to steal more than half a million dollars from his firm. They escape to the Virgin Islands, but their plans to live a life of quiet luxury are beset by unexpected pitfalls -- and Wise is forced to carry out two more ingenious schemes as a result. All three of his crimes are perfect -- or are they?THE CRIMES OF JORDAN WISE is a classic tale of love, greed, betrayal, and violence told with Bill Pronzini's characteristic twists and turns and his special brand of suspense. It is also a powerful psychological examination of a man, a woman, and the wages of sin.

Ross Poldark: A Novel of Cornwall, 1783-1787 ($2.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo) and Demelza - A Novel of Cornwall, 1788-1790 ($2.99 Kindle, Kobo), by Winston Graham [Sourcebooks Landmark]

Ross Poldark: A Novel of Cornwall, 1783-1787
A gorgeous new release of the heartwarming and hilarious first novel in the Poldark series, the subject of the landmark BBC series

Ross Poldark is a heartwarming, gripping, and utterly entertaining saga that brings to life an unforgettable cast of characters and one of the greatest love stories of our age.

Ross Poldark returns to Cornwall from war, looking forward to a joyful homecoming with his family and his beloved Elizabeth. But instead he discovers that his father has died, his home is overrun by livestock and drunken servants, and Elizabeth, having believed Ross dead, is now engaged to his cousin. Ross must start over, building a completely new path for his life, one that takes him in exciting and unexpected directions?

Thus begins an intricately plotted story spanning loves, lives, and generations. The Poldark series is the masterwork of Winston Graham, who evoked the period and people like only he could, and created a world of rich and poor, loss and love, that readers will not soon forget.
Demelza - A Novel of Cornwall, 1788-1790
Demelza is a heartwarming, gripping, and utterly entertaining saga that brings to life an unforgettable cast of characters and one of the greatest love stories of our age.

An impoverished miner's daughter, Demelza Carne is now married to Ross Poldark, who once rescued her from a fairground brawl. Her efforts to adapt to the ways of the gentry--and her husband--place her in hilarious and embarrassing situations, through which she becomes self assured, mannered and lovely, and the birth of her first child brings a joy she never experienced before.

But tragedy strikes where least expected, and sows the seeds of an enduring rivalry for Ross Poldark and the powerful George Warleggan, and tests Ross and Demelza's marriage and their love...

The Fifth Assassin ($4.74 Kindle, B&N), by Brad Meltzer [Hachette], is on a steep discount; it was released in January of this year, when it was named one of Amazon's Best Books of the Month.
Book Description
From John Wilkes Booth to Lee Harvey Oswald, there have been more than two dozen assassination attempts on the President of the United States.

Four have been successful.

But now, Beecher White--the hero of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Inner Circle--discovers a killer in Washington, D.C., who's meticulously re-creating the crimes of these four men. Historians have branded them as four lone wolves. But what if they were wrong?
Beecher is about to discover the truth: that during the course of a hundred years, all four assassins were secretly working together. What was their purpose? For whom do they really work? And why are they planning to kill the current President?

Beecher's about to find out. And most terrifyingly, he's about to come face-to-face with the fifth assassin.

Leviathan Wakes ($2.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo; $3.99 companion audiobook), by James S.A. Corey [Orbit], includes a full copy of Daniel Abraham's The Dragon's Path in the same volume. This one's been on sale a time or two (or three) in the past, but this week the third in the series, Abaddon's Gate ($8.89), was released, so it's back again. If you missed it, Caliban's War is the novel that goes in between; between the three, you get over 1600 pages of epic Military Science Fiction. If you already have The Dragon's Path, there is an Advanced Reader copy of Leviathan Wakes in it, but this edition is the final, edited/proofed version.

Leviathan Wakes
Humanity has colonized the solar system - Mars, the Moon, the Asteroid Belt and beyond - but the stars are still out of our reach.

Jim Holden is XO of an ice miner making runs from the rings of Saturn to the mining stations of the Belt. When he and his crew stumble upon a derelict ship, The Scopuli, they find themselves in possession of a secret they never wanted. A secret that someone is willing to kill for - and kill on a scale unfathomable to Jim and his crew. War is brewing in the system unless he can find out who left the ship and why.

Detective Miller is looking for a girl. One girl in a system of billions, but her parents have money and money talks. When the trail leads him to The Scopuli and rebel sympathizer Holden, he realizes that this girl may be the key to everything.

Holden and Miller must thread the needle between the Earth government, the Outer Planet revolutionaries, and secretive corporations - and the odds are against them. But out in the Belt, the rules are different, and one small ship can change the fate of the universe.
The Dragon's Path
All paths lead to war...

Marcus' hero days are behind him. He knows too well that even the smallest war still means somebody's death. When his men are impressed into a doomed army, staying out of a battle he wants no part of requires some unorthodox steps.

Cithrin is an orphan, ward of a banking house. Her job is to smuggle a nation's wealth across a war zone, hiding the gold from both sides. She knows the secret life of commerce like a second language, but the strategies of trade will not defend her from swords.

Geder, sole scion of a noble house, has more interest in philosophy than in swordplay. A poor excuse for a soldier, he is a pawn in these games. No one can predict what he will become.

Falling pebbles can start a landslide. A spat between the Free Cities and the Severed Throne is spiraling out of control. A new player rises from the depths of history, fanning the flames that will sweep the entire region onto The Dragon's Path-the path to war.
The Templars ($1.99 Kindle, B&N), by Michael Haag [HarperCollins], looks rather interesting. Note that the Kindle edition may not include the maps and pictures from the print edition (they are not in the sample).
Book Description
Arguably one of the most provocative, puzzling, and misunderstood organizations of medieval times, the legendary Knights Templar have always been shrouded in a veil of mystery, while inspiring popular culture from Indiana Jones to Dan Brown. In The Templars, author Michael Haag offers a definitive history of these loyal Christian soldiers of the Crusades—sworn to defend the Holy Land and Jerusalem, but ultimately damned and destroyed by the Pope and his church. A bestseller in the United Kingdom—the first history of the enigmatic warriors to include findings from the Chinon Parchment, the long-lost Vatican document absolving the Knights of heresy—The Templars by Michael Haag is fascinating reading.

The Mighty Storm ($0.99 Kindle; $2.99 companion audiobook), by Samantha Towle, will soon be going up in price, as the author has signed the book with Montlake Romance (pre-order for Aug 20).
Book Description
It's been twelve years since Tru Bennett last saw Jake Wethers, her former best friend and boy she once loved.

Jake Wethers, sexy, tattooed and deliciously bad lead singer, and brains behind The Mighty Storm, one of biggest bands in the world, left Tru with a broken heart when he moved from England to America with his family when they were both fourteen.

Sent to interview Jake for her music column by the magazine she works for, they are both unprepared for the sparks that fly the instant they reconnect. Only, there’s a complication to their instant feelings for one another – Will, Tru’s boyfriend of two years.

Then Jake makes Tru a job offer she can't refuse - travelling the world with him and his band. But taking the job means leaving Will behind, and being on the road with the band means spending an inordinate amount of time with Jake.

Is Tru strong enough to resist the delectable bad boy who once held her heart so completely, or will she willingly risk it all for one night with the worlds most notorious womanizer?

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

UK Kindle Daily Deal 6/4

The Gilded Edge (£0.99 UK), the second Vince Treadwell novel by Danny Miller [Robinson], is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (no US edition).
Book Description
London 1965, and Vince Treadwell investigates the seemingly unrelated murders of a playboy aristocrat from Belgravia and a young black nurse from the wrong side of town. It takes the detective to the illegal drinking dens of Notting Hill run by the self-styled Black Power leader, Michael X; the nightclubs of Soho owned by the legendary gangster, Billy Hill; and the exclusive gaming tables of the Montcler Club in Berkeley Square, where the blue bloods and power players of England gamble thousands on the turn of a card.

But as Vince Treadwell digs deeper he finds himself not only embroiled with a beautiful society girl, Isabel Saxmore-Blaine, but a world of espionage and corruption where the underworld mixes easily with the aristocracy, and no one is innocent.

Sunday, June 2, 2013

UK Kindle Daily Deal 6/2

Bolero (£0.99 UK), by Joanie McDonell [Thomas & Mercer], is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $4.99; companion audiobook $1.99).
Book Description
Bolero is one of those rare thrillers you truly can’t put down. Introducing noir detective, Nick Sayler, it is a nonstop ride to an unexpected twist ending.

Despite his bronze star with its prized V for valor, Nick Sayler was once a thief, junkie, and prime suspect in a murder case. Now he’s a mostly changed man, a private investigator with a long list of rich clients and a good life. But even after ten years there’s not enough whiskey in the world to wash away acid-etched memories of Julia Carteret, the beautiful woman who took a bullet meant for him.

He never expected a second chance to make things right until he got a midnight call from a distraught young doctor and a plea from a fragile dancer with no money, no memory, nothing in her pocket except Sayler’s card, and the number 44 carved across her back. With bewitching violet eyes she looks so much like Julia, Sayler thinks keeping her safe could put him back on the road to redemption. But not long after he takes her home to his Hudson River barge, he learns that she has a past as dark as his own, and soon he’s protecting her from a patient sociopath with seemingly preternatural power to be in two places at once.

Sayler needs his wingman Meriwether, the brilliant savant, and his restless backup, Tommy Fallon NYPD homicide, whose dicey investigative methods keep them under the radar, which is the only place to be when Sayler taunts danger. As he nears old secrets linking the dancer to a strange group: a voluptuous redhead, a concert pianist, a skateboarder, and a Polish nanny, he starts to learn why the murderer’s sex-stoked obsession can’t end until the girl is dead. When the killer who never sleeps gets the best of an exhausted Sayler on an isolated island off the coast of Connecticut, in Manhattan’s meatpacking district, and on the streets of Harlem, smart money might bet both ways, except for one sure thing: in spite of his bad leg and worse habits, no matter what the cost, Nick Sayler will not let another woman die.